A country in denial: Most Americans believe they are healthy.. even if they are overweight and don't work out

Americans are in denial about their lifestyles and believe they are healthier than they actually are, a new study has found.

Insurance company Aetna commissioned a study which looked at various things including how we rank our health compared to other generations to what we would do if we had an extra hour in a day.

In the survey of 1,800 adults between the ages of 25 and 64, when asked why they exercise, typically young women said it was to look good in their underwear.

More than 50 per cent believed they were healthy even if they were overweight, although 67 per cent of people asked said they needed to lose a median of 25 pounds.

Baby boomers - aged 50 to 64 - are twice
as more likely than Generation Xers and Millennials to describe
themselves as healthy, which included getting regular doctor checkups or
screenings

Almost half of Americans said they believe their generation is the healthiest, with 45 per cent saying they think their own generation is in the
best shape, followed by their parents' generation and then by the
generation younger than their own.

Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet, told CNBC of the study's participants: 'There is a disconnect. It's surprising.

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'Being healthy is about being at a healthy body weight...the higher their weight goes, the higher their risk increases.

'There is that road to health. More people are getting on it. I just think we need more people to be on that road.'

Solo: When it comes to exercise, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they are more motivated to exercise when they can do it alone

Baby boomers - aged 50 to 64 - are twice as more likely than Generation Xers and Millennials to describe themselves as healthy, which included getting regular doctor checkups or screenings.

Millennials - aged 18 and 34 - believe their eating and exercise habits are better than those of other generations, though 37 per cent of them admit drinking alcohol to deal with stress with around half saying they snack on unhealthy food when they are stressed out.

A third of Millennials and Generation Xers said they worried about what they looked like in their underwear while just 19 per cent of baby boomers worried about this.

When it comes to exercise, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they are more motivated to exercise when they can do it alone and if given an hour extra a day more people said they would exercise than they would sleep.